What is new in Mari 4 | New project setup

Peter Aversten

Mari 4 new project window

Mari 4 has a new and consolidated project setup procedure. The new window combines geometry channel and shader and light setup in one go. You can essentially just paint away once your project is created, in theory at least .

The new interface in Mari

Once you hit the “new” button down in the left hand corner you are greeted by the new project window with four main new tabs

Geometry tab

The geometry tab has the same geo options as in previous Mari versions. You can load models with the file formats alembic, FBX OBJ and Ptx formats

Channels tab

The channels tab is where we can create and setup the main channels choosing from a number of predefined categories with shaders ranging from Ai standard VFX workflow to Vray and unreal gaming. If you choose one shader and create the channels , the shader and channels will automatically be setup for you on creation. No need to go to the shader tab once project is created and choose each channel anymore

Color Settings tab

In the color settings tab you will have the option to choose the default color config of your choise. For smaller studios and individuals Nuke-default might be enough. You also have the option for ACES, and I bet larger studios will have their own exotic setup defined here.

Lighting tab

The lighting tab is where you can define what shader and light your scene will have as default startup. In previous Mari versions I always had to go to the light tab and disable the four point lights and enable the HDR light with a custom HDR. Now i can have all of that taken care of before I even have created the project.

Mari 4 Youtube tutorial

This community is about you

Meshmen and The Mari Channel is here for you and I’m happy when i get requests for future topics and episodes.

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About The Author

Peter Aversten Blogger and Lead Texture Artist. Started to write the collumn meshmen in the magazine EFX art & design in the mid 90s. From 2000 and onwards persuaded a career in Visual effects as a generalist then later on focused on texturing and lookdevelopment.